


Hey Raf,

by RlOT



Category: Transformers: Prime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:15:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21707332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RlOT/pseuds/RlOT
Summary: I've never seen him like that. And you know what he said? "Orion Pax didn't believe in Megatronus for nothing." I don't know how to feel about that one.
Relationships: Bulkhead/Wheeljack
Kudos: 37





	Hey Raf,

Hey Raf,

I've never been good with words, but that's never stopped me from talking anyway, right? I thought the best way to keep in touch would be to try "texting" you from this console in my new quarters. It took a lot of messing around, but I didn't spend all that time listening to Ratchet's complaining for nothing. Turns out I can be pretty smart when I want to! Anyway, I heard you're able to translate Cybertronian now. How many languages does that make? I think you were still learning German when I left. Maybe you could teach me a thing or two about how to write in English or Spanish some time - it might be a cool way to talk to each other. What's the one Miko's parents talk in again?

Cybertron is coming along slower than we thought it would. Not that I'm complaining, it's just that I think Optimus is also coming along slower than we thought he would. Don't get me wrong, he's still Optimus and he's still giving orders and doing what he needs to do, but I can see him getting tired when he thinks no one's looking. I caught him just standing outside, staring at the horizon like he was ready to jump on something, but there was nothing there. I don't think he knows what to do with himself now that Megatron's gone. I try to be a friend when I can. It's not like I don't have my own doubts about his death, either. And I'm the one who...

Smokescreen has really come into his own since we found him, but I don't think that's a surprise to anyone. As much as he's learned and done for us, I can't help thinking about how hilarious it is that he's put down his Prime hero worship and picked up a different brand. Ultra Magnus is the worst influence on him. If he makes his spine any straighter during his briefings I think he'll freeze into a lamppost. I told him that, when we hang out, you need to act like a normal person. If I hear any more military jargon from you I'm cancelling our game nights! We're rebuilding a planet here, not prepping for another battle. We need to focus on providing a safe, secure system for people to live under. It's not every day you get to draw out the blueprint for an entire society like this.

Bulkhead and Wheeljack gave us the news a few solar cycles ago. Did you know those two were a couple? I guess it makes sense, doesn't it? They go back really far, and by the time we were all heading back home, they were acting like Miko was their own kid. I just never thought Wheeljack would be able to commit himself to someone like that when he can't sit still, but I think Bulkhead has become an anchor for him. They work well together. Kinda cute, but I worry about them putting themselves in danger and one of them not coming back sometimes. I don't know why. I might be spending too much time with Optimus.

Arcee decided to take her old place back, the one she lived in before it all happened. Far away from the rest of us where she can finally have some peace and quiet. Her old stuff is gone, but she said she's going to try decorating again. I think it's more like a way to occupy her free time now that she's not spending it with Jack. I never thought about how I'd make home feel like home other than just living in it, but I tried to learn knitting with some synthetic fibers. Like that baby blanket your mom made that you still have in your bedroom and told me not to tell anyone about. Oops.

I don't know what I'll make yet. I'll send you a picture when it's done.

And yes, it will be black and yellow. :)

\- Bee

* * *

Hey Raf,

Divorce, huh? That sounds rough for someone stuck in his room. I'm sorry you don't have the kind of freedom we gave you in your own home. It sounds like your parents use this "puberty" thing as an excuse to brush you off when you're upset, and I don't think you're wrong. Don't lose hope, and don't let it get to you. You're a stronger Autobot than any of us, I know you can pull through! 

Things are getting pretty crazy over here too, so you're not alone on that one. Optimus and Magnus have been getting into fights about their different visions for Cybertron a lot lately. Magnus is more oldschool, and his plans involve a lot more "rebuilding our former political landscape" and I'll be honest, maybe I'm not as smart as I thought I was because most of his spiel went over my head. Whatever he was talking about almost made Optimus start throwing punches. I've never seen him like that. And you know what he said? "Orion Pax didn't believe in Megatronus for nothing." I don't know how to feel about that one.

I always thought Megatronus started out like an extremist or something. But I guess to this day his advocacy for a fairer Cybertron moves something in Optimus I didn't realize was there. A vision of a different future, and Ultra Magnus is more of a guy who can't get out of the past, so it's sort of, you know. Unstoppable force meets immovable object. I've never seen Smokescreen just leave like that. I think seeing both of his idols on the verge of duking it out like rabid Predacons was too much for even him to handle.

Bulkhead and Wheeljack have been disappearing together a lot, and I don't blame them. Arcee is the only one who doesn't seem shaken by any of it, but I think she's just really good at keeping her feelings bottled up. I've tried to talk to her on a more personal level a few times, but she doesn't budge. Being quiet might be her version of learning how to handle everything after so many constant reminders of Tailgate and Cliffjumper. Maybe I could learn a thing or two from her.

How's Ratchet doing over there? I'm starting to miss his bad temper; we could've used it today.

\- Bee

* * *

Hey Raf,

I'm surprised you tolerate that guy. I valued his friendship and his work during our time on Earth, but I'd be lying if I said that I was okay with the way he'd snap at you. I guess not a lot has changed for him. It's kind of a miracle that he and Magnus didn't hit it off better than they did; imagine the two of them teaming up. Nooooo thanks!

Jack graduated already?! Somehow that's the one thing here that's making me feel old. Our time on Earth was a lot longer than it felt for me, but I know the way we experience time is different from humans. You have shorter lifespans, you develop faster. Everything is probably pretty fast when you're that small, now that I think about it. Except for us. From that perspective, I bet we move like - what were those animals called? Elephants.

Yeah, I guess that was pretty cool, but I don't know if I liked it. Is that weird? I thought that being the one to kill Megatron off for good would feel amazing. Heroic and final, like opening the door to a brand new world where we can remake our home as a place of peace. And it's not like we aren't doing that right now, but I guess it's different when you're the one behind the sword. I've always had a hard time with that necessary evil, and with all this talk about the alliance between Megatronus and Orion Pax lately... You know. I know you're going through a lot right now and I don't want to add onto that, so I don't know if I should keep talking about this. Let's just say that Magnus isn't the only one stuck in the past. Guess it's hard not to be when you're back home after so long, though.

So, knitting turned out to be harder than I thought. I've been trying to do it with just my fingers instead of cheating with Cybertronian tech, but I'm starting to wonder if Autobots like me were made for delicate hobbies. If I was built like a seeker, maybe my fingers would be small enough to make this happen faster. I originally planned to make some kind of clothing with it, but I don't know if that'll be possible for my skill level, so I might go your mom's route and make a blanket. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with this thing when I'm done. The temperatures on Cybertron aren't extreme enough to warrant using this, and you can't exactly turn a blanket into a fashion statement, can you?

\- Bee

* * *

Hey Raf,

Glad to hear you're making some new friends. And the same school as Miko? If only the two of you shared a lunch period! Imagine all the stuff you could get up to!

Yeah, getting my voice back was definitely an unexpected side effect. One I don't want to take for granted, but I feel like it came with its own separate side effects. I don't want to say that I didn't want it back, because of course anyone who loses something vital will want it back. I just can't help noticing how people treat me differently now. I didn't get it as it was happening, but it feels like I was being talked down to a lot before, and now that I talk like a normal bot suddenly I'm an equal. Like they didn't care as much about what I had to say when it was harder for me to say it. I guess the reason I'm telling you this is because I feel like you'll understand exactly what I mean.

We have a fully stocked synth en supply now. While it won't live up to its namesake in quality, it's better than anything we could've hoped for. Optimus and Smokescreen agreed that it's in everyone's best interest to use that supply to appeal to the remaining Decepticons scattered to the wind and get them to join the cause, since we haven't found any other Autobots yet. I'm more on Bulkhead's side and think that, at the very least, we should wait for them to come to us. Wheeljack, Arcee, and Magnus aren't so thrilled about any of it.

I asked Optimus why he's been acting so sympathetic to Decepticons lately. He said that they'd started out with the right idea, that Cybertronian systems of government hinged on keeping one group powerful and the rest of them weak, and that as long as this imbalance existed that no one could ever truly be free. That no one bot should be able to decide the fate of millions, and Megatronus was the one person who wasn't afraid to use his fists. Something Orion Pax didn't realize was the only way to wrestle that power away. I asked him "Isn't that the point of Primes? Deciding the fate of millions?" and he just looked at me. 

I know Cybertron is in good hands. I just wish I understood exactly what those hands planned to do, and what the person they're attached to is really thinking. I'm sorry, Raf. I don't want to bring you down. I guess I just have a lot on my mind. I feel more like an alien here than I did on Earth, and I miss playing video games with you. Smokescreen isn't the same, he doesn't get my jokes.

Almost done with that blanket, by the way! I've been spending more and more time on my own working on it, and I think I've gotten my rhythm down pretty good. It's not perfect, but it's looking alright.

\- Bee

* * *

Hey Raf,

Nice! I bet your parents won't have anything to nag you about with that grade. And a crush? What's his name? What's he like? Don't go rushing into anything! You're too young! 

I think I'm understanding everyone around me a bit better. We had a huge fight, but in the process a lot of feelings came to the surface and I think it made us closer as a team. I'm glad, because even Arcee cried a little bit and I know she needed to get that out. Wheeljack and Magnus were the only ones who didn't cry, I think. Yeah, I know. Even I get in my feelings sometimes. Also, don't tell Arcee I told you that.

Optimus... I'm realizing is more complex of a person than I ever thought. I'm not saying I thought he was stupid, or that Primes don't have emotions or anything like that. But hearing him question himself, and hearing him say out loud that he's been mourning his old friend, helped put things in perspective for me. 

Before Megatron became a tyrant, before Megatronus became Megatron, I wonder what he was like. The way Optimus describes him makes him sound like a good man. I think I'd understand his feelings better if I got to see the revolutionary himself, and I'm wondering if the reason Megatron became who he is is because he cared more about being the figurehead of a movement than the movement itself (Maybe that's what he saw in Starscream). Orion Pax might've been wrong to assume he could fight fire with kindness, and that he could appeal to the very people who wanted to crush his spirit, but he knew that you can only do good as equals. Or at least, he was forced to come to that conclusion somewhere down the line. Magnus still has a lot to learn.

It sounds like you're doing your own soul-searching over there. I'm really proud of you Raf, and I can't wait until we can visit Earth again! I hear that "holiday season" is coming up and I think some gaming is in order! Arcee misses Jack and Bulkhead misses Miko too, so I've already got their votes on this. I haven't pitched it to Optimus yet, but I hope he'll come along with us. I think he could use a break.

Oh, by the way, I've attached a picture of your present.

I think you'll like the colors.


End file.
